


The Merrow

by mothicalcreatures (laelreenia)



Series: Maeve Rourke is a Merrow [1]
Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Concussions, First Meetings, Gen, Head Injury, Mermaids, Merrow Maeve, Merrows are Irish Mermaids, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 19:39:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8173547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laelreenia/pseuds/mothicalcreatures
Summary: When Sean goes to investigate the rumors of there being a Merrow in the caves by the beach, he gets a little more than he bargained for.





	

Sean had been sixteen when he’d met and fallen in love with a banshee. Two years later, Sean still had to admit that it was the weirdest experience he’d ever had. Which was actually saying quite a bit considering how weird his life was normally, what with his home being a castle full of leprechauns and the fact that he could scream and break things.

That was also why he was completely unfazed when his uncle told him that he thought there was a merrow lurking in the caves by the beach. Sean offered to go down and check it out, because his uncle had brought it up in a way that seemed like he thought it might be a problem, but his uncle just shook his head and warned Sean that it was too risky and he’d best just leave the creature be. That was usually the best policy when it came to dealing with fae and other similar creatures. 

However, Sean had never been particularly good at adhering to that. In fact, getting involved in a fight between between three trolls was how he’d meet the banshee the first place. So once his uncle had left for the day Sean made his way down the rocky cliffside towards the caves on the far side of the beach. Sean didn’t actually try to climb into the caves, but once he reached the beach level he perched himself on a rock as close to the caves as he could get and waited. He wasn’t really expecting to see anything, but he was curious and besides his uncle hadn’t even been one hundred percent sure there was anything there.

Sean sat there for a while, lounging and watching the waves, after a while he stopped really paying attention to the water around the caves. Occasionally he’d let out a sharp whistle to see if he could make the waves break before they crested naturally. He managed it a couple of times, but mostly it didn’t work, not that he was trying particularly hard either way. 

After about an hour Sean decided it was time to head in; he could see a storm coming in and he didn’t want to be caught outside when it reached the coast. As Sean got to his feet he heard a splash in the water behind him that was distinctly different from the sound of the waves. However, when he turned to look there was nothing there. Nothing he could see at any rate, he had enhanced hearing not vision. He turned away again, preparing to head back up the rocky path to the top of the cliff, but before he could take a step something grabbed him by the ankle. Sean started and lost his footing on the rock. He twisted as he fell, trying to get a look at what had grabbed him. It looked like woman and Sean had a fleeting moment of recognition before his head cracked against the rock and he plunged into the water, unconscious. 

  
  


When Sean came to, the first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his head. The second thing he noticed was that he was cold and wet and lying on something very hard and uncomfortable. 

He groaned and tried to sit up, but his head started swimming before he’d even managed to prop himself up on his elbows.

“Wait, wait, don’t do that.” 

Sean’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice. There was the sound of bare feet on rock and the girl… the _merrow_ who’d dragged him into the water was leaning over him and pushing on his chest to get him to lie back down. Which he did, slowly.

With his eyes finally open Sean tried to take in his surroundings. He was in a cave, presumably lying on the rocky floor. He could hear waves crashing not too far away. The merrow, who was hovering over him, was thankfully, not naked but wearing what looked like a sail that had been fashioned into a loose fitting dress. She was beautiful, like merrow women were always said to be. Somehow Sean hadn’t really expected her to have red hair though. He’d always imagined merrows with blonde or black hair. 

“You hit your head when you fell,” the merrow said, seating herself on the ground next to Sean.

“I need to get home,” Sean said.

“You’ll have to wait, the storm’s too bad for you to swim to the beach.”

Sean sighed and closed his eyes. Fantastic, just fantastic. 

“I didn’t mean to make you fall,” the merrow said. “I just wanted to get your attention.”

Sean didn’t say anything.

“I was trying to hunt and you were scaring away all the fish.”

Sean cracked one eye open to look at the merrow. “I was scaring away the fish?”

“With your whistling! It was driving them all away.” 

Oh. Sean hadn’t really thought about that. “Sorry.”

The merrow huffed. “What was that anyways? I didn’t think humans could do things like that.”

“Most can’t,” Sean said. “I don’t know why I can. It just kind of happened when I was twelve. I can hear better than most humans too.”

“Are you a changeling?”

“No,” Sean said. “I don’t know why I can do what I can. I just know I can do it.”

The merrow hummed thoughtfully. “How’s your head?” She finally asked.

“Still hurts.” And if Sean was being honestly he felt kind of woozy. “Can I try sitting up again?”

“Just be slow, you hit your head really hard,” the merrow said. “You were unconscious for quite some time.”

Sean swore under his breath as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The woozy feeling got worse the more upright he was and by the time he was fully upright, it felt like his head was spinning. He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing a hand to his forehead. 

The merrow placed a hand on Sean’s back, “Are you alright?”

“Fine.”

Sean could practically feel the glare the the merrow was giving him. 

“I really need to get home,” he said, lowering his hand and opening his eyes again in an attempt to come across as more fine than he felt.

“You aren’t going anywhere while it’s storming,” the merrow said. “You can’t swim through water like that. I can, but you can’t.”

“You don’t even have fins,” Sean muttered. 

There was a flurry of motion and then a splash as the merrow quickly shifted back to her natural state and, discarding her dress, dove into the water. “And now I do.” 

Sean sighed.

The merrow swam over to the edge of the cave floor. “Look, the rain’s starting to let up a little, give it a bit longer and I’ll help you get to the beach.”

Sean nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, I mean, it is my fault you’re in this position in the first place.”

 

It wasn’t long after that that the merrow deemed the ocean quiet enough for Sean to swim to shore. It was still raining but it was more of a drizzle now than the torrential downpour it had been earlier. Sean was still feeling woozy, but he slid into the water anyways. He hoped he was doing the right thing in trusting the merrow to help him to the beach. She could just as easily drown him, but she hadn’t the first time round and she hadn’t even intended to pull him in either. She’d just wanted Sean to stop scaring away her dinner. 

“Follow me, it’s not that far to the edge of the beach where you were.”

Sean nodded, and when the merrow slipped under the water Sean followed after her. 

As Sean went underwater he winced as the salt water stung the back of his head. He must have cut his head when he hit the rock, but he’d let himself worry about it later right now he just needed to get back to shore.

They ended up going a bit farther than where Sean had been perched on that rock. It was easier to get out on the sand part of the beach, as opposed to trying to climb up onto rocks that were now very wet and slippery. Sean didn’t need to hit his head again.

Sean slumped down onto the sand as soon as he was out of the water. He really didn’t feel good. 

The merrow hung back in the water. “Are you okay?” She called.

“Not really,” Sean admitted. “My head really hurts and I’m getting nauseous.”

“I’ll be right back,” the merrow said, and then with a splash she was gone.

Sean let out a long breath and tried to push himself up. He managed to get himself into a sitting position before he was too dizzy and nauseous to continue. 

He rested his head in his hands and tried to will his head to stop spinning.

“You really don’t look so good.”

Sean started, he hadn’t noticed that he merrow had returned. She’d shifted so she had legs again and was wearing the dress from before, that must have been what she’d gone back to get. 

“Sorry.” She offered Sean her hand and carefully helped him to his feet.

Sean swayed and grabbed onto the merrows arms to catch his balance. Her skin was cold and clammy. 

“How far away is your house?”

“On top of the cliff, it’s- I live in the castle up there.” 

The merrow nodded. “You think you’re okay to walk or do you want me to go for help?”

“I can walk… I think.”

“We’ll take it slow,” the merrow said.

Sean nodded and took a deep breath trying to steady himself as the merrow wrapped an arm around Sean’s waist.

It was a slow trek up the rocky path to the top of the cliff and Sean stumbled more than once, but the merrow managed to keep him from falling.

 

“Thank you,” Sean breathed out once the merrow had gotten him to the back entrance of the Keep. It would take Sean down through the kitchens instead of the main hall. 

“You’re welcome,” the merrow replied. “You’ll be alright on your own from here?” She peered up at the castle. 

“Yeah, I’ll be alright now,” Sean said. “I’ll let you get back to your fish.”

The merrow laughed and Sean grinned. She had a really pretty laugh. 

“What’s your name?” The merrow asked. 

“Sean.”

“I’m Maeve. I’ll see you around Sean.”

With that she turned and hurried back down the cliffside and Sean watched her until she was out of sight. 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Sean falling in love with a banshee is Actual Comics Canon, you can read all about it in Giant-Size Uncanny X-Men: First Class. It is wild. 
> 
> 2\. My information about Merrows came from "Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia of the Little People" by Carol Rose. The entries I looked at were the ones for, Mermaid, Merrow, and Selkie.


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